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andTilly Oct 2020
nankurunaisa
one word, a clutch
to hope, to wish, to tell
to not worry too
much
everything’s gonna be good
everything’s gonna end well
Nankurunaisa, an ancient Japanese (Okinawan) saying. The original meaning was: "Never forget where you are and live for today and for tomorrow; never forget to smile and, however bad your day has been, remember that the next day the sun will receive you with a big smile, so do the same yourself".

©2020 andtilly.com
Wondering where the streets
Walk through the night
Lost on a freeway
I hope the journey is right
I think this must be a lane along a sign
Hidden by the starlight and rain
Volleying my car through the road
I can't sleep with being uncertain
The cold moon is lost in translation
That shade of paleness touches me too
As I wander under the stellar sky
Three times, I text you,"I don't know.'
There won't be a fourth one
Since, your heart is printed in my heart
Like today being the backdrop for tomorrow's anticipation
My feet hardly leave your doorstep
My mind turns and turrets
Lost in translation
I wonder what splits the night
Into dreams and nightmares
Is it being lost in translation?
...love is a daydream I sleep on
Based on a movie of the same name.
jake aller Dec 2019
Okinawa War thoughts

these dark moods
follow me
as I tour Okinawa

where the last battles
of world war 11 were fought

thousands died
in the first
and last outpost
of the American East Asian Empire


Okinawa Beckons me

Okinawa Japan
kept calling to me
in a dream
notifying me
always in the background
where my memories
always waiting for me

Beckons me
everywhere I go
cosmic reflections
of past lives
never seen before
seems lost in time
maybe just the spirits of the dead
everywhere I see ghosts


Okinawa Street Scene

Walking the streets
of Fabled Naha Okinawa
a life time dream
someday I would visit

I am surrounded
by ghosts of the past

and Japanese beauties
all around me

tempting me
with their sweet smiles

Impure thoughts
fill my head
as they smile at me
and I smile at them

No wonder
so many Soldiers
brought back
Japanese wives

Japanese Coffee Barista

watching the Japanese
coffee barista

preparing my snarling cup
of hot boss coffee

fills my heart
with ****** joy

how I wanted to express
what was on my mind

right then
to the Japanese
coffee barista


Ghosts of Okinawa  add to Ghosts Poems - post as separate poems

Ghosts of Okinawa

Touring the battlefields
of Okinawa

where so many young men
gave up their life
so many years ago

I see the ghosts
all around me
feel their spirits
floating through the air

Kilroy was here
there and everywhere
whoever that was

and John Dean wannabes
and Elvis wannabes

and so many other wannabes
and I see the ghosts of the fallen heroes
all around me



Signs
everywhere in Asia
you see strange variations
of English
Japlish, Konglish, Singlish

the street signs in Okinawa
are all in Chinese, Japanese, English and Koreans
the bus and train announcements as well

Hard to get lost
even when you want to

but the random encounters
with English words
puts a smile on my face

as I drink my “boss coffee”
wondering who is the “boss”
and why is smoking a pipe?

and many years ago
I saw on a menu
at the old Kimpo Airport
Baked Rick

and in Korean grocery stores
one can find
corn flights

I look forward
to many more years
of linguistic confusion
as I travel about Asia
Dream 1074 Visit to Okinawa Aquarium

Whenever I visit an aquarium,
zoo or wild life park

I am reminded of a prison
the prison is filled with animals
who amuse us for their food

I am sure that the animals
hate us humans
who are watching them
do their animal thing

but looking into their eyes
the eyes of the sea turtles
swimming back and forth

in their prison cell
in the Okinawa aquarium
filled with hatred
for the humans
who had imprison them
and hunt their kind

and don’t get me started
on the dolphins and killer whales
who preform acrobatic feats
for their daily meals

and the sharks
the king of the ocean killers

they too
if they could
they surely would

escape
their prison cell

screaming
Death to all humans
as they flee
back into the ocean’s depths
Okinawa West Coast Road
Riding down the west coast road
of Okinawa
echoes of other beach roads
fill my head with memories

I am reminded of Hawaii
and driving along the Oregon coast
east coast beach towns as well

and Barbados
and the Caribbean islands

all the roads
are lined with tourist resorts
beach views and restaurants

all very similar
yet different

and as the beach towns
fade away
behind us on the bus

my memories
of all the other beach towns
I have visited

fade away
into my memory hole

Okinawa Haiku

In Okinawa
the warm trade winds blow away
the coming winter
recently made my first trip to Okinawa. Here are my poetic reflections on the journey
Anthony Pierre Nov 2019
The Sun slips to sleep
on Ishigaki's retreat
under pastel sky
A Haiku's Sunset: On Ishigaki Island in Okinawa, Japan
Midway- Surprise! We saw them
Coming from a mile away.
Japanese aircrafts and ships try and attack,
And they get their butts whooped!
And then we got the idea to island hop!

Hop to Iwo Jima- Slowly.... Slowly.... Don't scare it,
It's like a nest of bees!
And we got it! Two air bases captured
And one step closer to the mainland!
Japan may be fortified, but we
Have tons of muscle!

Hop to Okinawa- this one was a doozy...
The biggest amphibious battle of WWII,
And contained the most casualties! Pretty harsh.
Maybe you they shouldn't have attacked us in the firs place!
We only meant to invade and use the island as a
Springboard towards the mainland, but the
Battle took too long.
Just weeks after the fighting ended, Japan surrendered
And we bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki!
We never got to invade...
I had a bit of fun with this one. The entire poem is read in either a kids voice or a sassy, streriotypical teenagers' voice.

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